II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 38 

To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to Business Program, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 24 (legislative day, JANUARY 3), 2023 

Ms. DUCKWORTH (for herself and Ms. ERNST) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Small Business 

and Entrepreneurship 

A BILL 

To amend the Small Business Act to codify the Boots to 

Business Program, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veteran Entrepreneur5 ship Training Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM. 

7 Section 32 of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 

8 657b) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(h) BOOTS TO BUSINESS PROGRAM.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) COVERED INDIVIDUAL DEFINED.—In this 

2 subsection, the term ‘covered individual’ means— 

3 ‘‘(A) a member of the Armed Forces, in4 cluding the National Guard or Reserves; 

5 ‘‘(B) an individual who is participating in 

6 the Transition Assistance Program established 

7 under section 1144 of title 10, United States 

8 Code; 

9 ‘‘(C) an individual who— 

10 ‘‘(i) served on active duty in any 

11 branch of the Armed Forces, including the 

12 National Guard or Reserves; and 

13 ‘‘(ii) was discharged or released from 

14 such service under conditions other than 

15 dishonorable; and 

16 ‘‘(D) a spouse or dependent of an indi17 vidual described in subparagraph (A), (B), or 

18 (C). 

19 ‘‘(2) ESTABLISHMENT.—During the period be20 ginning on the date of enactment of this subsection 

21 and ending on September 30, 2028, the Adminis22 trator shall carry out a program to be known as the 

23 ‘Boots to Business Program’ to provide entrepre24 neurship training to covered individuals. 


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1 ‘‘(3) GOALS.—The goals of the Boots to Busi2 ness Program are to— 

3 ‘‘(A) provide assistance and in-depth train4 ing to covered individuals interested in business 

5 ownership; and 

6 ‘‘(B) provide covered individuals with the 

7 tools, skills, and knowledge necessary to identify 

8 a business opportunity, draft a business plan, 

9 identify sources of capital, connect with local 

10 resources for small business concerns, and start 

11 up a small business concern. 

12 ‘‘(4) PROGRAM COMPONENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Boots to Busi14 ness Program may include— 

15 ‘‘(i) a presentation providing exposure 

16 to the considerations involved in self-em17 ployment and ownership of a small busi18 ness concern; 

19 ‘‘(ii) an online, self-study course fo20 cused on the basic skills of entrepreneur21 ship, the language of business, and the 

22 considerations involved in self-employment 

23 and ownership of a small business concern; 

24 ‘‘(iii) an in-person classroom instruc25 tion component providing an introduction 


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1 to the foundations of self employment and 

2 ownership of a small business concern; and 

3 ‘‘(iv) in-depth training delivered 

4 through online instruction, including an 

5 online course that leads to the creation of 

6 a business plan. 

7 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The Adminis8 trator may— 

9 ‘‘(i) collaborate with public and pri10 vate entities to develop course curricula for 

11 the Boots to Business Program; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) modify program components in 

13 coordination with entities participating in a 

14 Warriors in Transition program, as defined 

15 in section 738(e) of the National Defense 

16 Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2013 

17 (10 U.S.C. 1071 note). 

18 ‘‘(C) USE OF RESOURCE PARTNERS AND

19 DISTRICT OFFICES.— 

20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Administrator 

21 shall— 

22 ‘‘(I) ensure that Veteran Busi23 ness Outreach Centers regularly par24 ticipate, on a nationwide basis, in the 

25 Boots to Business Program; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) to the maximum extent 

2 practicable, use district offices of the 

3 Administration and a variety of other 

4 resource partners and entities in ad5 ministering the Boots to Business 

6 Program. 

7 ‘‘(ii) GRANT AUTHORITY.—In carrying 

8 out clause (i), the Administrator may make 

9 grants to Veteran Business Outreach Cen10 ters, other resource partners, or other enti11 ties to carry out components of the Boots 

12 to Business Program. 

13 ‘‘(D) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

14 DEFENSE AND THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR.— 

15 The Administrator shall make available to the 

16 Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of 

17 Labor information regarding the Boots to Busi18 ness Program, including all course materials 

19 and outreach materials related to the Boots to 

20 Business Program, for inclusion on the websites 

21 of the Department of Defense and the Depart22 ment of Labor relating to the Transition Assist23 ance Program, in the Transition Assistance 

24 Program manual, and in other relevant mateVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:55 Jan 27, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S38.IS S38

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1 rials available for distribution from the Sec2 retary of Defense and the Secretary of Labor. 

3 ‘‘(E) AVAILABILITY TO DEPARTMENT OF

4 VETERANS AFFAIRS.—In consultation with the 

5 Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Adminis6 trator shall make available for distribution and 

7 display on the website of the Department of 

8 Veterans Affairs and at local facilities of the 

9 Department of Veterans Affairs outreach mate10 rials regarding the Boots to Business Program, 

11 which shall, at a minimum— 

12 ‘‘(i) describe the Boots to Business 

13 Program and the services provided; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) include eligibility requirements 

15 for participating in the Boots to Business 

16 Program. 

17 ‘‘(F) AVAILABILITY TO OTHER PARTICI18 PATING AGENCIES.—The Administrator shall 

19 ensure information regarding the Boots to 

20 Business program, including all course mate21 rials and outreach materials related to the 

22 Boots to Business Program, is made available 

23 to other participating agencies in the Transition 

24 Assistance Program and upon request of other 

25 agencies. 


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1 ‘‘(5) COMPETITIVE BIDDING PROCEDURES.— 

2 The Administration shall use relevant competitive 

3 bidding procedures with respect to any contract or 

4 cooperative agreement executed by the Administra5 tion under the Boots to Business Program. 

6 ‘‘(6) PUBLICATION OF NOTICE OF FUNDING OP7 PORTUNITY.—Not later than 30 days before the 

8 deadline for submitting applications for any funding 

9 opportunity under the Boots to Business Program, 

10 the Administration shall publish a notice of the 

11 funding opportunity. 

12 ‘‘(7) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of enactment of this subsection, and not 

14 less frequently than annually thereafter, the Admin15 istrator shall submit to the Committee on Small 

16 Business and Entrepreneurship of the Senate and 

17 the Committee on Small Business of the House of 

18 Representatives a report on the performance and ef19 fectiveness of the Boots to Business Program, 

20 which— 

21 ‘‘(A) may be included as part of another 

22 report submitted to such committees by the Ad23 ministrator related to the Office of Veterans 

24 Business Development; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) shall summarize available information 

2 relating to— 

3 ‘‘(i) grants awarded under paragraph 

4 (4)(C); 

5 ‘‘(ii) the total cost of the Boots to 

6 Business Program; 

7 ‘‘(iii) the amount of program funds 

8 used for domestic and international travel 

9 expenses; 

10 ‘‘(iv) the number of program partici11 pants using each component of the Boots 

12 to Business Program; 

13 ‘‘(v) the completion rates for each 

14 component of the Boots to Business Pro15 gram; 

16 ‘‘(vi) to the extent possible— 

17 ‘‘(I) the demographics of pro18 gram participants, to include gender, 

19 age, race, ethnicity, and relationship 

20 to military; 

21 ‘‘(II) the number of program 

22 participants that connect with a dis23 trict office of the Administration, a 

24 Veteran Business Outreach Center, or 


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1 another resource partner of the Ad2 ministration; 

3 ‘‘(III) the number of program 

4 participants that start a small busi5 ness concern; 

6 ‘‘(IV) the results of the Boots to 

7 Business and Boots to Business 

8 Reboot course quality surveys con9 ducted by the Office of Veterans Busi10 ness Development before and after at11 tending each of those courses, includ12 ing a summary of any comments re13 ceived from program participants; 

14 ‘‘(V) the results of the Boots to 

15 Business Program outcome surveys 

16 conducted by the Office of Veterans 

17 Business Development, including a 

18 summary of any comments received 

19 from program participants; and 

20 ‘‘(VI) the results of other ger21 mane participant satisfaction surveys; 

22 ‘‘(C) an evaluation of the overall effective23 ness of the Boots to Business Program based 

24 on each geographic region covered by the Ad25 ministration during the most recent fiscal year; 


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1 ‘‘(D) an assessment of additional perform2 ance outcome measures for the Boots to Busi3 ness Program, as identified by the Adminis4 trator; 

5 ‘‘(E) any recommendations of the Adminis6 trator for improvement of the Boots to Busi7 ness Program, which may include expansion of 

8 the types of individuals who are covered individ9 uals; 

10 ‘‘(F) an explanation of how the Boots to 

11 Business Program has been integrated with 

12 other transition programs and related resources 

13 of the Administration and other Federal agen14 cies; and 

15 ‘‘(G) any additional information the Ad16 ministrator determines necessary.’’. 

Æ 


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